Low Back Pain

About 85% of the population will experience disabling lower back pain at least once in their lives. The estimated cost of this problem is over $50 billion per year. Low back pain often comes on suddenly and for no apparent reason. The lumbar spine takes an enormous amount of stress in that it connects the upper half of your body to the lower half and is involved in twisting and bending motions between the two. The normal curve in the small of your lower back, called the lumbar lordosis, allows for structural stability. The common cultural activities of forward bending and long hours of sitting put adverse stress to this curve. Postural stresses and /or trauma commonly lead to a mechanical disturbance called subluxation (a spinal bone which loses its normal position and motion leading to nerve irritation). The subluxation leads to stiffness, inflammation, muscle tension/spasm and nerve irritation. Many times a subluxation is incorrectly diagnosed as a sprain or strain because of the muscular pain associated with it. Muscle spasms in the spine are typically a protective mechanism protecting the more vital underlying problem. Long-term subluxation is typified by intermittent painful episodes, and can lead to disc herniations and degenerative arthritis because of progressive wear and tear from abnormal spinal mechanics. Unfortunately, low back pain is commonly addressed from a symptomatic approach (muscle relaxers, pain killers, massage, traction, ultrasound, corticosteroid injections, etc.) rather than addressing the cause by correcting the biomechanical disturbance and making lifestyle modifications.

Gonstead Chiropractic and Low Back Pain

Even antagonists of chiropractic agree that chiropractic is the choice for low back pain. In 1994, after reviewing a wealth of large scale studies, the federal government made a definitive pronouncement that chiropractic is one of the preferred and most effective treatments for acute adult low back pain. Controlled, scientific studies conducted by medical physicians comparing chiropractic with medical care, physical therapy, and non-surgical therapy for the back show that doctors of chiropractic relieve chronic and severe pain, both immediate and long term, in one half the time it takes medical physicians. Gonstead chiropractic aims to address the cause of low back pain rather than just suppress symptoms. The difference between Gonstead chiropractic and other chiropractic and osteopathic techniques is that a Gonstead adjustment is aimed at the specific problem spinal joint only, rather than manipulating the entire region.

Here’s what Gonstead patients say:

“I can now kayak, hike, backpack, and bike without pain.”

Dave W.

“Wow!!!! Thank God for Gonstead Chiropractic. I was seriously considering back surgery. My pain was so extreme I was bed ridden for hours throughout the day and I could not drive. After a month of Gonstead chiropractic care I noticed a huge difference in a reduction in my pain level. The next thing I knew I was driving again and the curve in my lower back was coming back again.”

Rick R.

“I thought I just had a lower back problem, but found out there were other areas in need of attention. Working on those areas has relieved pain I did not attribute to my back.”

Jon B.

“Care is effective. Lower back pain gone.”

Colleen M.

“Lower back pain is almost gone except for strenuous activity and then it is not putting me down for days. My back is stabilizing and my activity is way up.”

Ron C.

“Since going to a Gonstead chiropractor my back has never felt so good. I had lower back pain daily. I never knew I could be without pain in my lower back.”